Sheriff: Dream Cruise arrest count fairly low'

After immaculate weather shined down on the Woodward Dream Cruise, which ran half the length of Oakland County and drew more than a million people this weekend, the areas surrounding the 16-mile stretch of the nation’s first highway saw a fairly low amount of arrests, said Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

“You could count on one hand the number of arrests that were made,” which were about five total by sheriff’s deputies, Bouchard said.

During the 12-hour event, the largest one-day car show in America , one man who stole from a roadside merchant who had merchandise for sale outside was quickly apprehended by street deputies, he said.

In total, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office authorities made the larceny arrest, one disorderly conduct arrest, two drunken driving arrests and a domestic disturbance arrest on Saturday.

However, Bouchard said he doesn’t necessarily attribute the arrests to the classic car show.

With around 1.3 million estimated attendees, law enforcement officials had to keep watch on the entire event, Bouchard said. The sheriff’s helicopter allowed officials to do that and Boucahrd said it is a great asset during large festivals.

“An aerial observation platform like that is huge,” said Bouchard. “You can’t get a sense of what’s happening in that manner except for in a helicopter.

“Maybe somebody passed out and is on the ground ... it’s important to have that eye in the air to get a better response time.”

In 2012, Terry McIninch alleged in a lawsuit the sheriff’s helicopter hovered at a lower altitude than Federal Aviation regulations allow Aug. 18 over a lot at Woodward Avenue and Raeburn Street in Pontiac where McIninch’s family and friends were having a Dream Cruise party. He claimed the helicopter’s rotor wash injured his children and kicked up debris, damaging McIninch’s 1971 Chevrolet El Camino and his motor home.

The suit was later thrown out of Oakland County Circuit Court, after finding the father’s claims did not have merit, Bouchard said.

This year was fairly uneventful in the way of large emergencies and safety threats, Bouchard said. He also contributes that to hundreds of officers from as many as a dozen different departments that were patrolling Woodward Avenue.

While crowds at the Dream Cruise broke 1 million, participants for Saturday’s “Cruise in Shoes” 5-kilometer run and walk had 1,210 participants.